Online Safety

Safety on the Internet

The links below are organized into four sections.
1. General Online Safety
2. Children, Teens, Parents
3. Identity Theft
4. Reporting Internet Crimes

Be Smart Online - What to watch out for & how to stay safe, tips from the Federal Trade Commission. Everything from how to get less email spam, to how to deal with cyber crimes.
Digital Estate Decisions - what do you want to happen to your accounts if you die or are unable to care for them yourself?
Fact Checking - How to check for truth and lies online.
Internet Shopping Safety - Avoid problems & scams with advice from the California Attorney General's office.
Phishing - Information from the Federal Trade Commission about this common form of internet fraud.
Use the Best Password Ideas - Understand more about password safety. From Consumer Action.
Using Public Wi-Fi - Stay safe while using public wireless internet in the library and other places.
Safety Tutorial for Internet Newcomers - Get the big picture with this tutorial. It's simple and features good advice (especially about passwords!). From LearnFree dot org.

A Parent’s Guide to Internet Safety for Kids- Information for parents regarding children's cybersafety.
Connect Safely with Social Media - A nonprofit that provides social media safety information for parents. Understand more about the online world your children and teens encounter and help them avoid problems. Includes parent guides to specific sites popular with children and teens.
Cyber Academy Game - A game for children in grades 3-5 to learn about cyber-citizenship and online safety. This is a free download from Carnegie-Mellon University.
Internet Activity for a 13-Year-Old: A Parent's Guide- This guide offers practical tips on internet use for parents of teenagers. It also explains what COPPA is and breaks down what websites and kids can and can’t do “legally” at 13.
NetSmartz - Here you can watch cartoons and play games that also help kids learn about staying safe on the internet and social media.
Protect Kids Online - Information for children, teens, and parents from the U.S. Government.
Protecting Children's Privacy on Social Media - An article that guides parents through the privacy settings of selected social media sites popular with children and teens.
Real-World Reasons Parents Should Care About Kids and Online Privacy - a 2019 article explains the problem.
Videos about Kids & Web Safety - Collected by Common Sense Media.

Identity Theft - Steps to protect yourself, and to recover from having your personal information stolen, from the Federal Trade Commission.
Identity Theft Resource Center - This nonprofit, a Better Business Bureau accredited charity, provides free help to victims of identity theft. The site also offers prevention tips, convenient form letters, links to forms, and examples of current scams.
Medical Identity Theft - Tips and details on this specialized form of identity theft, from the World Privacy Forum.

Internet Crime Complaint Center- Report fraud and other internet-based crimes.
Justice.gov- A full list of places to report internet-based crimes of every sort.